Lore
1987 Mara Zora 1.3t Kabriolet
The Mara Zora (or Zorya in its home country) was developed when safety requirements in Mara’s main export markets prevented the continued export of its predecessor, the Tovarysh of 1950s vintage.
Unlike the ‘Tov’, the Zorya was a modern unibody transverse FWD construction. During the Zora’s development, several engine prototypes were tested, but ultimately a modernised version of the venerable 1.3 OHV from the ‘Tov’ was chosen as the best compromise. The Zora had to re-use a few other existing Mara components as well, such as the Tov’s headlight units.
In the mid 1980s, Mara tasked Archanan boutique car manufacturer Mayster with turning the Zora into a convertible, based on Mayster’s experience with its convertible sports car, the Triumf. To cope with the additional weight, Mayster also boosted the engine’s output through their first application of a turbocharger to a mass production vehicle.
